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NATO leader Mark Rutte has ridiculed Russia regarding the “ailing” status of one of its submarines as Russian officials denied it was forced to come up due to technical issues.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet explained that the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk surfaced near France to comply with maritime protocols in the English Channel, dismissing claims of a critical breakdown.
However, Dutch officials stated over the weekend that the submarine was being towed in the North Sea. Rutte, during a speech in Slovenia on Monday, described the vessel as “damaged”.
“Now, in effect, there is hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left. There’s a lone and broken Russian submarine limping home from patrol,” Rutte said.
“What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel ‘The Hunt for Red October’. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic.”
VChK-OGPU, an elusive Telegram channel known for revealing alleged Russian security leaks, mentioned on 27 September that fuel had begun to seep into the Novorossiysk, heightening the threat of an explosion.
NATO’s Maritime Command published photographs on 9 October of what it said was a French navy frigate observing a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany.
“NATO is committed to defending our Alliance with unwavering vigilance and maritime insight across the Atlantic,” it shared on X, without referencing the submarine.
On Saturday, the Dutch defence ministry said the Dutch navy had escorted the Novorossiysk and an accompanying towing vessel, the Yakov Grebelsky, in the North Sea.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet said on Monday that the submarine was conducting a “scheduled inter-fleet transit” after completing tasks in the Mediterranean.
State news agency TASS said the vessel, which entered service in 2014, was part of a group of submarines that carry Kalibr cruise missiles.
